Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 24, 2015

National Transportation Safety Board releases preliminary report into Feb 3 Metro-North Railroad crash that killed six people in Valhalla, NY; investigators are trying to determine how large pieces of third rail, which pierced the train, were ripped from track bed. MORE

Feb. 16, 2015

New York Sen Charles E Schumer and Connecticut Sen Richard Blumenthal say they will introduce $50 million a year bill to improve safety at rail crossings following fatal accident at Metro-North Railroad crossing near Valhalla, NY. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Fatal Metro-North Railroad crash in Valhalla, NY, has cast renewed scrutiny on dangers posed by railroad crossings across country, and in the New York metropolitan area in particular; New York Times investigation focuses on 10 of the most statistically dangerous crossings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut according to metric devised by the Federal Railroad Admin. MORE

Feb. 7, 2015

Friends and family gather at standing-room-only funeral service for Ellen Brody, woman whose sport utility vehicle was struck by Metro-North train at railroad crossing in Valhalla, NY, resulting in six fatalities, in commuter rail's worst crash on record; mourners set aside circumstances surrounding collision to focus on remembering Brody for her warmth and devotion to loved ones. MORE

Feb. 7, 2015

National Transportation Safety Board investigators detailing collision of Metro-North commuter train and sport utility vehicle at rail crossing in Valhalla, NY, say significant questions hang over crash that claimed six lives; investigators emphasize, however, that actions of engineer Steven Smalls and train's conductor during incident helped prevent more deaths. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Investigators examining Metro-North collision near Valhalla, NY, are trying to determine how train-on-car crash spread damage through train's interior and killed five passengers; attention has turned to third rail construction on Metro-North lines, which differs from that of other rail agencies. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Engineers worldwide are trying to improve safety of grade-level crossings like one involved in fatal crash between Metro-North train and vehicle near Valhalla, NY; experts say, however, that human error and physics can undermine even best safety systems. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Chappaqua Journal; fatal train crash on Metro-North's Harlem line has upended both lives and sense of security in town of Chappaqua, NY, where many residents rely on train to get to work in Manhattan. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Joseph Nadol, Aditya Tomar and Robert Dirks, who were among victims killed in Metro-North railway crash near Valhalla, NY, had differing lives but shared reliance on rhythms of railway schedule. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Investigators of deadly Metro-North Railroad crash in Valhalla, NY, are struggling to understand why Ellen Brody drove her sport-utility vehicle onto train tracks, resulting in fiery collision that killed her and five train passengers; are also attempting to find out why car's impact so greatly endangered occupants on the train. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Rate of accidents at railroad crossings, like that which claimed seven lives in Metro-North Railroad crash near Valhalla, NY, have been falling steadily nationwide, though less so in the New York and New Jersey area; twenty-eight such accidents occurred in region in 2013. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Some Metro-North commuters express second thoughts about sitting in first car of train following lethal crash near Valhalla, NY. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Crowded Metro-North Railroad train hits sports-utility vehicle on tracks in Westchester County town Valhalla at rush hour, killing seven people, injuring a dozen and causing evacuation of hundreds of passengers; service is suspended on Harlem line in most fatal crash in railroad's history. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

Fatal crash of Metro-North train in Valhalla, NY, is latest in string of troubles railroad has experienced in last few years, including Dec 2013 crash in Bronx that killed four passengers and injured more than 70. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

MetroCard glitch disrupts travel for nearly 10,000 Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North commuters when coding error in December monthly passes renders them worthless; authority tells affected commuters they must buy new monthly MetroCard on their own and await adjustment of their December charges. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Repairs and improvements on the Harlem River Lift Bridge, which was built 60 years ago and connects Manhattan and the Bronx, are scheduled to be finished in mid-March 2015 at cost of $47.2 million; overhaul is going on without disrupting the 700 Metro-North trains that cross structure daily. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

Report by group of three senators and Christopher A Hart, National Transportation Safety Board acting chairman, finds that Metro-North railroad has been negligent in their safety efforts, putting profits above safety of their workers and riders. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Connecticut Gov Dannel P Malloy announces additional train service on the Metro-North New Haven commuter line, fulfilling longstanding promise; added trains will represent roughly an 8 percent increase in service, though some gaps will persist. MORE

May. 16, 2014

Metro-North Railroad sends report to the Federal Railroad Administration detailing several changes in response to agency's scathing March review of the railroad's deficient safety culture. MORE

May. 10, 2014

Metro-North Railroad retires last of its old car fleet, bringing an end to the last bar cars believed to be operating in the United States; bar cars were a national staple since before World War II, but steadily dwindled over the years; regulars gather to reminisce about pleasant memories of drinking on the New Haven line. MORE

Apr. 10, 2014

Two Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers, Luis Alvarez and Errold Borges, rescue dog after it ran more-than-mile-long path of Hudson Line train from the Bronx to Upper Manhattan. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

National Transportation Safety Board offers possible medical explanation for fatal Metro-North accident on Dec 1, 2013, just north of Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx; train operator William Rockefeller underwent a sleep study conducted by a board certified sleep medicine physician after saying he was in a 'daze' as train gained speed, results of which indicate that he may suffer from undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea. MORE

Apr. 7, 2014

National Transportation Safety Board will announce that William Rockefeller, Metro-North Railroad engineer at the controls during a fatal derailment in the Bronx in December 2013, had an undiagnosed sleep disorder; Rockefeller suffered from severe sleep apnea, which appeared to be aggravated by change to an early-morning shift shortly before the crash. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Metro-North's new president Joseph J Giulietti, along with other top officials, spends two hours at Grand Central Terminal to discuss safety concerns, long waits, and other train issues with commuters. MORE

Mar. 15, 2014

Joseph J Giulietti, president of Metro-North, gives news conference at Grand Central Terminal to address report released by Federal Railroad Administration that describe a railroad fraying even as it increased number of trains in operation to meet ridership demands; Giulietti says that railroad officials will evaluate whether unprecedented demand for services in 2013 played any role in railroad's declining safety record. MORE

Mar. 14, 2014

Blistering review from Federal Railroad Administration, following spate of rail disasters, finds Metro-North Railroad has fallen prey to 'deficient safety culture'; reports railroad prizes on-time performance at expense of protecting riders and workers; also says Metro-North's operations control center pressured workers to rush and that cellphone use was commonplace among track workers on job. MORE

Mar. 11, 2014

James Romansoff, a Metro-North Railroad worker, is struck and killed by a train in East Harlem, the latest in a string of devastating accidents for the railroad over the past year; National Transportation Safety Board is starting an investigation into the accident along with MTA's police department. MORE

Feb. 25, 2014

Michael Shaw, a conductor on Metro-North's New Haven line, surprises commuters with a personal note of apology left on each seat of the Monday 6:52am express to Grand Central Terminal; on the previous Friday, Shaw had mistakenly instructed hundreds of commuters to wait for an express train that had actually been cancelled without his knowledge; Metro-North officials praise Shaw's message if not the method of delivery. MORE

Jan. 25, 2014

Sprawling shutdown that halted commutes for nearly two hours across Metro-North Railroad has been traced to simple disconnected wire overlooked by technicians who were trying to replace a power supply unit; incident is latest in series of embarrassments for railroad. MORE

Jan. 24, 2014

Power failure at Metro-North Railroad’s control center at Grand Central Terminal cuts service to its three main lines, stranding thousands of passengers across the metropolitan region for nearly two hours and setting off a chaotic scene as the hub swells with frustrated commuters. MORE

Jan. 14, 2014

Appraisal column notes that New York Gov Andrew M Cuomo’s revival of a plan for a Metro-North spur serving Co-op City in the northeast Bronx, would put Midtown just a half-hour away for residents; plan could also start a transformation in Co-op City, nation's largest subsidized housing cooperative, which remains a safe, leafy place where a three-bedroom co-op costs $27,000 to buy and less than $1,500 a month in maintenance fees. MORE

Jan. 9, 2014

Gov Andrew M Cuomo, in his State of the State address, discusses plan to connect Metro-North Railroad's New Haven line to Pennsylvania Station, as well as add four stations in the Bronx; says project is way to 'bring transit options to the Bronx,' and is culmination of ideas which have been studied for years by Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other transit planners. MORE

Jan. 7, 2014

Howard R Permut is reportedly stepping down as president of Metro-North Railroad, announcing his retirement to staff members at a meeting; he is expected to be replaced by Joseph Giulietti, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. MORE

Dec. 29, 2013

Dec. 19, 2013

Investigation by inspector general for Metropolitan Transportation Authority finds that Metro-North Railroad foreman and repair crews have repeatedly falsified time sheets, spent large stretches of work days running personal errands and misused agency-issued vehicles; findings suggest Metro-North 'lacks appropriate internal controls.' MORE

Dec. 16, 2013

Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Federal Railroad Administration investigators have arrived at troubling conclusion that Metro-North Railroad could have easily installed a series of protections long before Dec 1 derailment in the Bronx that killed four people and injured more than 70. MORE

Dec. 16, 2013

Editorial welcomes announcement by federal officials of full review of the safety culture of the Metro-North system, in response to deadly Dec 1 derailment of a Metro-North train; calls on New York Sen Charles Schumer and Connecticut Sen Richard Blumenthal to help find financing for much-needed safety reforms that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has deemed too costly. MORE

Dec. 13, 2013

Federal transportation officials say they will begin extraordinarily rare review of operations and 'safety culture' of Metro-North Railroad--first such investigation ever conducted for passenger railroad; inquiry is ordered not only because of a fatal train derailment in the Bronx on Dec 1, but also a series of other accidents in 2013. MORE

Dec. 9, 2013

Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it has upgraded its signal network, one week after Metro-North train derailed in the Bronx, killing four people and injuring scores of others; operators nearing sharply curving section of track, just north of Spuyten Duyvil station, will be warned of reduced speed limit, and train will brake automatically. MORE

Dec. 7, 2013

Federal Railroad Administration issues emergency order requiring Metropolitan Transportation Agency to put two people in place to operate Metro-North trains at potentially dangerous sites; directive, following fatal December derailment in Bronx, will remain in place until railroad updates its signal system to better enforce speed limits. MORE

Dec. 7, 2013

Neighbors and friends of William Rockefeller, engineer driving Metro-North train that derailed in Bronx, killing four passengers, say that reckless image of Rockefeller emerging in aftermath of accident breaks with common impression of him as responsible, hard-working and kind person. MORE

Dec. 5, 2013

Photos from the Central African Republic, Israel, Thailand and New York. MORE

Dec. 5, 2013

Metro-North train that derailed in the Bronx, killing four people, had alert system in place in locomotive pushing rail cars, but not in cab on opposite end where train operator William Rockefeller was positioned; appears likely that if Rockefeller had experienced similar episode of inattentiveness on northbound trip, where he would have been stationed in locomotive, the siren might have sounded. MORE

Dec. 4, 2013

Lawyer for William Rockefeller, engineer who operated Metro-North train that derailed in the Bronx, killing four people and injuring more than 70, says he suffered what is referred to as 'highway hypnosis' before accident and that Rockefeller is 'extremely remorseful.' MORE

Dec. 4, 2013

Editorial questions why there are still no automated safeguard for out-of-control trains like the Metro-North train that jumped the tracks in the Bronx, killing four people and injuring more than 70; contends that the ultimate blame for the tragedy is a deficit of money and political will, as well as years of wasted time, for sensible safety precautions. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

Federal investigators say Metro-North train that derailed in the Bronx, killing four people, was traveling 82 miles per hour as it approached 30-mile-an-hour curve; say throttle was still engaged until six seconds before locomotive came to a stop after train careered off the tracks. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

New York Gov Andrew M Cuomo pops up on CNN to be interviewed by his brother Chris Cuomo, a host of network’s morning show New Day; unusual six-minute segment, which focuses on fatal Metro-North Hudson Line train derailment, does not go unnoticed by media watchers, some of whom question whether it is appropriate for a journalist on a news program to interview a close relative. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, when asked to comment on absence of Mayor Michael R Bloomberg from scene of Metro North Hudson Line train derailment in the Bronx, says that he would have felt it important to be there; Bloomberg had declined to reveal his whereabouts at the time of the crash but said that he was in constant touch with relevant officials at scene. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

Profiles of James M Ferrari and Kisook Ahn, two of the four people killed in the Metro-North Hudson Line train derailment in the Bronx. MORE

Experts are working to reduce the dangers of grade-level rail crossings like the one in Valhalla, N.Y., that was the scene of a deadly accident on Tuesday. But human behavior can defeat even the safest system, researchers say.

February 6, 2015, Friday

The train makes life in this bedroom community possible. But the crash on Tuesday that claimed six lives — three with Chappaqua connections — upended the sense of security, in a single, savage instant.